Schools

Ballot Measure Alert: Lake Washington School District Invites Parents, Residents to Weigh in

The school district says more classroom space will be necessary to accommodate increasing enrollment. Any proposed measures would appear on a special-election ballot in February 2014.

The Lake Washington School District (LWSD) will hold a series of meetings this spring to gather community input on potential 2014 ballot measures.

The district announced last month that in the next nine years. LWSD says the greatest need will be in the Redmond learning community—Redmond High School and the elementary and middle schools that feed into it—where 2,280 more students than permanent classrooms are expected by 2021-22. 

Would you support a new funding measure for LWSD in 2014? Tell us in the comments section.

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Growing enrollment is already a significant issue on Redmond Ridge, where Superintendent Traci Pierce has proposed a temporary boundary change to ease overcrowding at Rosa Parks Elementary.

The plan, Pierce told a group of Rosa Parks parents last fall, is to present a bond measure to voters in 2014 that would enable LWSD to build a new school on property it owns in Redmond Ridge East—even though a measure that would have done just that was voted down in 2010. If the measure fails, a district-wide boundary adjustment would take place.

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Although most pressing in Redmond, LWSD spokeswoman Kathryn Reith said Friday the enrollment projections are a significant concern elsewhere as increases to King County birth rates begin to have an impact.

"We’re seeing increases in numbers all over the district,” she said. “It’s coming not just from new development but also from existing housing.”

Any proposed measures would appear on a special-election ballot in February 2014. LWSD will also decide whether to pursue phase three of the district's modernization program at that time as well as renewal of its Capital Projects Levy and Educational Programs & Operations Levy, which funds 22.9 percent of the general fund.

Here is the meeting schedule and more info from LWSD: 

  • Tuesday, April 23, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Redmond High School
  • Tuesday, April 30, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Eastlake High School
  • Wednesday, May 1, 6:30-8:30, Lake Washington High School
  • Thursday, May 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Juanita High School

In addition, information and an input form will be posted on the district website beginning on April 23. Those who cannot attend a meeting will be able to weigh in online. Input from the meetings and the online form will be consolidated.

Dr. Traci Pierce, superintendent, will use the community’s input to help make a recommendation to the school board. The board will vote on what measures to put on the ballot in February 2014.


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